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Here's the next chapter. It's finally time for Imara to evolve.


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Chapter 54

2nd December

Lucas awoke late the next morning with Faith nestled in his arms. They spent half the night vigorously celebrating their reunion. If he still had any doubts that Faith was unsettled by his ability to transform into six foot-seven Pokemon, they were certainly put to rest. Several times.

He eased himself out of her arms, being careful not to wake her up. He grabbed some clothes out of the dresser and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Afterwards, he walked downstairs to find Mew who had stayed hidden in Eve's laboratory last night, not willing to reveal himself to more people. He needed to speak to Mew before it left the island. If he was going to move the Fire Source safely, he needed the Pokemon to explain the situation to Moltres before it went supernova again.

Lucas walked inside Eve's small laboratory and saw Nora sitting up on an examination bed, with Eve beside her, drawing some blood from her arm. Mew was perched at the end of the bed, watching the process curiously.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, coming to stand beside the bed.

"I need more blood to test out a new theory I have," Eve said, taking out the needle after she had enough blood.

"Mew said its DNA was used in the experiments that Dad performed on me," Nora explained, her eyes shining with hope. "It probably was a prototype of the serum he used on you, which explains my horrific mutation."

"Oh," Lucas nodded. "So is there a way to reverse it safely?"

"Maybe," Eve said, turning to look at Lucas. "There may be a way to reverse engineer a cure using Mew's blood as a catalyst. At first, I didn't have much hope of reversing such a huge physiological change. However, your situation proves that it is not out of the question."

Lucas was unsure whether or not the two situations were comparable, bearing in mind that he had a system that was capable of preventing any negative consequences caused by the serum. It's possible that he could have turned into something like Nora otherwise.

"That's great," Lucas patted Nora's arm. "If you need anything, please let me know."

"You have already solved the issue of funds. The only thing I need now is time, but it won't happen overnight," Eve replied.

"Well, I am not going to pretend to be able to understand all the science stuff," Lucas replied before turning to Mew. "I need your help with Moltres."

'What is it?'

"Follow me outside and I will explain."

Lucas walked out of the mansion and to the outskirts of town, and Mew appeared beside him. He looked around carefully, but there was no one in the vicinity to see the Pokemon and him together.

"There is a Fire Source located inside the volcano," Lucas pointed to the huge mountain to the north of them. "I believe it is the reason that Moltres won't leave this island alone."

'I was aware of its existence.'

"Of course you are," Lucas muttered. "Anyway, I need you to speak to Moltres and ask if I can move it to another location of its choosing, so it won't be afraid that we try and steal it in the future.

'What do I get out of it?'

"A lot of satisfaction for doing the right thing?" Lucas said helpfully.

'Try again.'

"Well, I don't know what you want. Name your price."

'You will owe me a favour.'

"No doubt I am going to regret that at some point in the future."

Lucas briefly discussed the details with Mew. The Pokemon was about to leave the island to meet up with Moltres when Lucas heard a shout from one of his partners. Imara appeared at the entrance of the town and ran over, stopping next to her trainer, nodding cautiously at Mew as she did so.

"What's the matter?" Lucas asked.

'I need you to save me a small piece of the Fire Source.' Imara said.

"What do you need it for?"

'It's going to benefit my evolution. Did you forget that I will evolve tomorrow?'

"It completely slipped my mind," Lucas admitted sheepishly before turning to Mew. "See if you can get Moltres to agree to that stipulation."

'Alright.' Mew flew off into the sky and vanished into the distance.

"How did you know it would help you with your evolution?" Lucas asked Imara.

'I don't know for sure, but there's a reasonable chance it will. Besides, I can always keep it as a treasure if it doesn't do anything.'

"Why do I get the feeling that is the real reason you want it?" Lucas asked flatly, as they made their way back into town.

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Imara ran ahead before he could question her further.

Before he reached the mansion, he was accosted by the dynamic duo of Sara and Eric, who wanted to discuss the town's rebuilding. After inspecting the town in more detail over the last few days, they made further additions to the initial draft and now wanted to get his thoughts.

"Can we discuss this over breakfast? I'm famished."

They headed inside and into the dining room, where Mr Mime was placing some plates of food down for the occupants at the table. Misty, Jason, Alfred and his parents greeted him when he entered the room.

His partners had their own place set aside for them, as they ate their own breakfast with the other Pokemon. Lucas cocked his head curiously when he saw a new addition to the group, a Slowpoke. Did Misty catch another water-type Pokemon?

"Morning," Lucas waved and sat beside Jason. "Hey, Mr Mime, can you prepare a plate please?"

"Mime," the Pokemon nodded, leaving the room.

"Where's Faith? Don't tell me you tired the girl out last night?" Jason snickered.

"Okay," Lucas nodded. "I won't tell you because I don't want to spoil your poor virgin sensibilities."

"Only a virgin in the flesh. In my mind, I have already lost my virginity hundreds of times."

"Please refrain from that kind of talk at the table," Sophia told them with a frown.

"Sorry, Mrs Walker," Jason apologised.

"So, how's the wooing of Eve going?" Lucas nudged him.

"Great," Jason perked up. "We were out on a date a couple of nights ago."

Misty looked up from her plate of food. "Did she know it was a date? Or did you trick her into it with some pretence about being friends?"

"I don't think Eve is as clueless about interpersonal relationships as she appears," Sophia said. "In fact, I think Jason is more clueless than she is when it comes to the opposite sex."

"Right," Jason nodded, before registering the rest of the sentence. "Hey, what do you mean by that?"

Everyone laughed at the teenager's expense, and Jason slumped in his seat.

"It's not a bad thing," Sophia said with a smile. "Eve is definitely less experienced at relating to people than the average person, but she is not as dense as she portrays herself. She's too intelligent for that. So, if she spends time with you, it's because she is genuinely interested."

"Really?" Jason straightened up. "It's hard to tell with her sometimes."

"Mother's right," Lucas said. His attention was diverted when Sara cleared her throat. "Alright, let's talk business, Sara. What do the current plans for the town look like?"

"I have the plans here," the woman said, enthusiastically waving a large roll of paper in front of her. She rolled it out on her side of the table, and everyone got a good look at the town's architectural plans.

Lucas was surprised to see how far the town layout had expanded from the original draft. A major change was the expansion of the docks. At the time, the docks were a simple pair of wooden docks in the shape of a 'U'. They extended out far enough to accommodate larger boats like cruise ships that required deeper waters. There was only Maggie's boat using the dock at the moment, so he didn't anticipate needing more space for boats anytime soon. The reason they wanted to expand it was unclear, which Lucas asked Sara and Mike about.

"This is the last thing we will complete," Mike explained. "It would be better to plan ahead now rather than be unprepared later. If you want to accommodate hundreds or thousands of people on your island in the future, you will need to expand the docks. You will have many small boats moored there, and that does not include those belonging to the locals."

"That makes sense," Lucas nodded, before pointing out the next change to the town. "Why are there now three rows of streets instead of two?"

"You need more houses for residents," Sara said bluntly. "With your current plans for the resort, you will need a lot of workers, and they will live permanently on the islands with their families. It also means that you need to build more infrastructure, such as a school, library, restaurants, clinic, and supermarket, to accommodate them. Otherwise, no one would want to live here. The previous town was only set up for a population of less than a hundred people, but yours will grow to several hundred in time."

"It is not as easy as it seems," David said with a smirk. "Are you regretting taking on this project now?"

Lucas waved his hands dismissively, "Not at all. As long as I have the Pokedollars and competent people overseeing the project, it will be fine."

"This will cost a lot more than a few million Pokedollars," Alfred remarked. "Are you sure you don't want to scale back the project to a more manageable level?"

"I have no doubt I would have already made more Pokedollars by the time I need another injection of funds," Lucas said. "It's pretty easy to make Pokedollars after all."

"Oh, man. Your arrogance is showing," Jason snorted.

Mr Mime returned with his food just as Faith stepped into the room and joined him at the table. They continued to discuss plans for the town. Lucas was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of moving parts needed for it to come to fruition. Eventually, he saddled responsibility on Alfred and escaped when Mew returned to the island with Moltres' response. He was eager to move the Fire Source before Sonya moved her base to a new location in the middle of the volcano.

Lucas entered the cavern where the Fire Source was located and was instantly bombarded with an intense wall of heat. His mouth dropped open in amazement when he saw the sight. Nora's description didn't do it justice, as the huge crystal radiated intense light and heat like a miniature sun. The light was so bright that he had to shield his eyes from its intensity. As he walked forward, his Armament began taking damage, and he hastened his pace in order to reach it as soon as possible. He lowered his sense of touch to zero before reaching out and quickly touching the Fire Source in order to place it in his inventory. If he hadn't been shielded from it, he would have at least third-degree burns, despite not feeling any pain.

Initially, he had been afraid that this location was too far away from the town, and that he wouldn't be able to access his inventory, but fortunately, that wasn't the case. He tested the limits by moving to different areas on the island and discovered that the system considered the entire island a town of sorts. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of this sooner. Could it be that because he owned the island, he could access his inventory anywhere on it?

Lucas felt instant relief now that the Fire Source was safely stored away. Now that he wasn't so blinded by it, he could see several Fire Stones scattered on the ground around him. He quickly picked them up and placed them in his inventory. There were twenty-three in total, and they had been produced in the months since Giovanni left the island, along with a few more he found in the main shaft. They were an easy source of income, so part of the deal with Moltres was to be able to harvest the Fire Stones regularly. This was in exchange for some initial materials to help Moltres construct a new nest with the Fire Source as its foundation.

The nest would be located far away from Cinnabar Island, on a sheer rock formation that ascended high into the sky and into the ocean. At the top, there was a large enough space to allow Moltres to feel comfortable and not be disturbed by others, as it was too inaccessible for them to reach. Lucas wondered why it was called a nest when the Pokemon could not produce any offspring, but it was only a passing thought.

"It's time to fly again," Lucas grinned. In order to meet Moltres to the south of Cinnabar Island, he would have to transform into his Mewtwo state. However, before he did so, he realised that it would be more worthwhile for him to spend the AP he had accumulated on more Aura, so he could remain transformed for a longer period of time.

After taking out his phone, he accessed his menu and spent his AP and checked his updated status on the screen.


Lucas Walker

Age: 15

Trainer Level: Advanced Student (1140 pts)

Title: Unstoppable (Combat + 33% exp).

Player Level: 21

Mewtwo Level: 50

Experience Cache: [1900]

Armament: 345/345

Aura: 1213/1213 [510]

Physique: 45 [21]

Dexterity: 36 [20]

Intelligence: 25

Perception: 41 [32]

Charisma: 32 [23]

Luck: 50

AP: 0

Sense Manipulation

Sight: 13 | Smell: 8 | Hearing: 11 | Touch: 4 | Taste: 5

Perks

Balanced (Aura) Level 4

Perfect Evolution

Friendly Narrator

Skill Controller

Tenacious Vitality

Transform: Multi-Purpose Tool

Sense Malevolence

Bartering

Experience Junkie

Lucky Hour


He now had twelve hundred Aura to use. This meant he could last two minutes in his Mewtwo state if he didn't spend any Aura on moves or other skills. It was still severely lacking but there had to be a downside, considering how overpowered Mewtwo was compared to most Pokemon. If he got into a dangerous situation, he would have enough time to either escape or take out the threat quickly with some powerful attacks.

Lucas had to spend experience to level up Mewtwo further, but the amount needed was prohibitive. He wouldn't be levelling it anytime soon. At the moment, improving his own level and the amount of aura he had available was more important to him than increasing the Pokemon's strength.

Lucas left the cavern and looked up at the shaft above him. There was a chance he would be seen leaving the island, so he wanted to try out the new skill Mewtwo had learned. He initiated the change, and soon Mewtwo stood there in his place. Activating the Aura Cloak skill, Mewtwo watched as his entire body was shrouded in a cloak of shimmering aura. It looked similar to the camouflage the Three Enforcers used for their aircraft and base. If the skill worked right, he could still see himself but be invisible to others.

With a boom, Mewtwo shot up the shaft and emerged into the skies above the volcano in an instant. He gained some ascendancy, decreasing the likelihood that he would be seen from below, before turning south and landing on the south side of the island next to the compound. Cancelling the skill, he sat down and meditated while waiting for Mew to arrive.

Soon after, Mew appeared beside him, and Mewtwo retrieved the Fire Source from his inventory and handed it to the other Pokemon. Fortunately, he could access his inventory in this state as well. Mew used a sharp psychic blade of energy to cut off a small piece of the crystal for Imara. He stored it in his inventory.

They flew into the sky, with Mew carrying the huge Fire Source beside him, and soon the island receded in the distance. After travelling a few kilometres in less than a minute, they spotted Moltres in the distance. Lucas was still amazed at how fast he could fly. It wasn't close to breaking the sound barrier, but it was still impressive. If he wanted to, he could travel across the entire Kanto region in a matter of hours.

Mewtwo was struck by a funny notion. Since he had the telekinesis skill, he could probably start his own delivery service, both packaged and human deliveries. Although, he didn't know how easily humans could handle the speed and conditions of the flight, at least those without enhanced bodies from Pokemon bonds. It is possible that he could build an enclosed carriage that he could sit in while levitating the whole thing. Too bad he was keeping Mewtwo a secret, or else it would be a convenience to move around so freely. Although not as good as Teleport, which he reminded himself he still needed to learn at some point.

They slowed down when they reached Moltres' side, and it was a challenge to put into words how intimidating the Legendary Pokemon was from a close-up perspective. Even if he was Mewtwo at the moment, he had no delusions about who would win in a fight. Irrespective of his limited time in this state, he was sure that Legandaries were a level far above his own, judging by the amount of aura radiating from the two in front of him. He had tried observing Mew at one point, but he ran out of aura before he could get any information, which was insane.

Mew handed over the Fire Source and Moltres caught it easily with a gust of flying-type energy. Moltres turned around and left, not looking in his direction or saying anything to him. It wasn't interested in speaking to Mewtwo, which was fine with him. The flaming chicken attacked him and his close friends and family after all, even if it was a case of mistaken identity. Still, it was worthwhile to meet Moltres as Mewtwo, in case they encountered each other in the future and he needed to avoid conflict.

The two of them turned around and headed back to the island, where they landed just as Lucas' aura ran out. As he sat down, he already felt hungry again due to his transformation. He took out a bag of crisps and munched on them to curb his hunger.

"So, I will leave the island soon," Lucas said. "Are you planning to stay here with Nora? You are welcome to, just as long as you stay out of sight of all the people that will come here. I don't need rumours of me harbouring a Legendary Pokemon to get out."

'No, but with my ability to teleport, I can return here at any time.'

"Right," Lucas said. "Now that the problem with Moltres is taken care of, I can start building up my island without any problems."

'You still think humans will come to this place?' Mew looked at him with doubt.

"Sure," Lucas shrugged. "Even if it does not, I still have a luxurious island to retreat to whenever I want to relax."


3rd December

Everybody was packed and ready to return to Pallet Town. The only thing they were waiting on was for Imara to evolve into Charmeleon, as Lucas didn't want to risk anything happening to her, like when Dante evolved. Fortunately, Imara was impatient and was ready for her evolution an hour after they had finished breakfast. The Pokemon sat on the ground, surrounded by Pokemon and people alike. It was always a special occasion to see a Pokemon evolve since it was considered the ultimate sign of a Pokemon becoming stronger.

Imara clutched three items in her arms that would boost her parameters when she evolved. A piece of Charcoal, a Dragon Fang, and a small piece of the Fire Source. Even if it was a fraction of the entire crystal, it still radiated a lot of heat, and Imara was almost purring in pleasure. She was at the peak of her energy, as well as her potential, so everything was in place for a successful evolution.

Grinning wickedly, Imara flashed her fangs as the evolution started. 'Here it goes.'

Her entire form was bathed in the familiar white glow of evolution, and behind its veil, Imara's body transformed. The shape of her body did not change that much, other than the fact that she grew larger. The most prominent difference was in the shape of her head, where the back of her head formed a horn-like protrusion, and her face had lost its roundness, becoming more angular and draconic in appearance. The glow disappeared, and an even fiercer Imara stood there, her tail flames flaring up briefly in jubilation as she roared at the sky.


Congratulations!

Your Charmander has evolved into a Charmeleon!

As a result of the pre-evolution conditions, she has gained the following stats.

HP + 100

Aura + 50

Attack + 10

Special Attack +15

Defence +10

Special Defence + 10

Speed + 10

Dragon-Type affinity + 10%

[Fire Source] Trait: Water Resistant - All water-type damage is halved.

Imara has entered the Second Stage: Stats can be trained further.

Fire Fang has been learned.


Lucas grinned and lifted Imara into the air, spinning her around as everyone clapped in celebration. He now had a second team member that had evolved, and she had become much stronger as well. They were the two pillars of the whole team, their competitiveness spurred the others to become stronger as well. He wouldn't be surprised if they followed in Dante's and Imara's footsteps soon and reached for their own evolution soon. Deciding to take a look at Imara's parameters, he opened her menu.


Pokemon: Charmeleon | Name: Imara | Age: 0 | Gender: F | Type: Fire | Potential: S | Affection: 90 | Favourite Foods: Steak and Kidney Stew.

Second Stage: The Pokemon has gone through its second growth.

Description: Tough fights could excite this Pokemon. When excited, it may blow out bluish-white flames.

Stats

Level: 10 | Exp Cache: (4750)| AP: 5 | HP: 305 | Aura: 300 |

Attack: 57 | Defence: 56 | Sp Att: 100 | Sp Def: 64 | Speed: 80 |

Traits

Martial Combat: Effectively uses its body in an efficient manner.

Energy Manipulation: The user has gained a better understanding of how to harness energy. It may be possible to alter moves in order to make them behave differently. There is also the possibility of adding properties to type energy.

Water Resistant: All water-type damage is halved.

Special Ability

Solar Power - During harsh sunlight, Solar Power raises the ability-bearer's Special Attack by 50%; but it loses HP with every Move used.

Balance - Increases the maximum aura by 25%.


Moves/Mastery

Physical

Scratch: (Normal) [Power: 50] (Cost: 5) [Mastery: Max]

Bite: (Dark) [Power: 70] (Cost: 8) [Mastery: Max]

Dragon Tail: (Dragon) [Power: 80] (Cost: 9] [Mastery: Max]

Fire Fang: (Dragon) [Power: 65] (Cost: 9] [Mastery: 1%]

Special

Ember: (Fire) [Power: 50] (Cost: 5) [Mastery: Max]

Weather Ball: (Fire) [Power: 60] (Cost: 13) [Mastery: Max]

Status

Growl: (Normal) [Power: -] (Cost: 5) [Mastery: Max]

Belly Drum: (Normal) [Power: -] (Cost: 9] [Mastery: Max]

Sunny Day: (Fire) [Power: -] (Cost: 22) [Mastery: Max]

Modified Smokescreen.

Smoke Veil: (Normal) [Power: -] (Cost: 9] [Mastery: 16%]

Oil Slick: (Normal) [Power: -] (Cost: 12) [Mastery: 12%]


Affinities

Type Attack

Fire ~ 68% | Dragon ~ 50% | Dark ~ 23%

Type Defence

Water: -50% | Ground: -100% | Rock: -100% | Fire: +50% |

Grass: +50% | Ice: +50% | Bug: +50% | Steel: +50% | Fairy: +50% |


The Fire Source boon could not be underestimated. Halfing the damage from water-type damage, one of her weaknesses was incredible. He would have to be on the lookout for other items like this for his other Pokemon.

Since Imara had now evolved, he spent her cached experience and levelled her up to level thirteen. Overall, she was looking pretty strong. In addition, with her Energy Manipulation trait, she was able to customise Smokescreen and add another move to her arsenal. Oil Slick was pretty self-explanatory, and it allowed her to coat the ground in a sticky substance similar to oil that not only affected the opponents' movements but also acted as an accelerant to spread her flames around. Lucas didn't know how she managed to change the property of the smoke so much. However, it wasn't out of the question, since Misty had done the same with ice to make it more slippery. He couldn't recall if there was an equivalent move out there, but since others could customise moves as well, it wouldn't be a surprise if there was something similar.

Lucas set Imara down, and her team members swarmed her. Even Freya stepped forward to congratulate her, although there was a glint in her eyes showing her desire to become stronger as well. However, she was well aware of how difficult it was for her to achieve evolution considering the lack of information about her species. Not that she required evolution to become stronger, but the idea still appealed to her, considering there wasn't a Scizor currently out there in the world or at least none that was known about.

Lucas placed a hand on Freya's shoulder. "I'll figure out your evolution requirements and you'll be the only Scizor around, completely unique."

'I cannot wait.' Freya said simply.

After the celebrations were over, everyone said their goodbyes to the people staying on the island. Lucas watched with interest as Jason said something to Eve, and she reached up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Jason grinned as Eve rushed back inside the mansion, and Lucas reminded himself to tease him mercilessly about it later.

They boarded the boat and it slowly drew away from the dock. Lucas entered the cabin because he wanted to talk to Maggie about something that bothered him.

"What do you want?" Maggie asked gruffly.

"It's about using the barge on the open sea," Lucas said. "So far, you have operated in fairly calm waters because of favourable weather, but I don't expect that to continue indefinitely. You can see that it has already taken a beating because of the Moltres incident. The issue needs to be resolved before we haul supplies in large quantities."

"You're not wrong," Maggie replied. "I can still use it for fishing tours when it starts up again, so long as I don't travel too far from Cinnabar Island, but anything else, you run the risk of the barge capsizing in rough weather."

"Then what can we do?" Lucas asked. "Do you need another boat and barge? And how much will one cost?"

"The easiest option is to customise this barge so it can handle the open seas. However, it would add a lot of weight to the barge, not to mention the construction supplies I am hauling. I will need an even larger boat with a more powerful engine to handle the increased load."

"How much will that cost?" Lucas asked curiously, wincing at another added expense.

"Let me shop around when we get to Pallet Town," Maggie said. "Perhaps I'll find a second-hand boat with the right requirements at a good price. Then we can hire someone to reinforce the barge."

"Alright," Lucas nodded. He left the cabin and stepped back onto the barge. He joined his friends and sat down next to Faith at the table. Phantump was sitting at the table, involved in a staring contest with Jason.

"What are they doing?" Lucas asked Faith in confusion.

"Haven't you noticed that the two of them don't get along?" Faith snorted. "Jason made a comment about how creepy Terra was once, and they have been at odds ever since."

"Huh," Lucas said in surprise. "How is Terra creepy? I think Jason is in for a shock when it evolves into Trevenant. Imagine having a staring contest with him then."

"Jason is not the sharpest tool in the shed," Misty giggled.

"Hey," Jason broke eye contact with Phantump. "That is rude."

Terra turned to Faith, and the girl listened to the Pokemon over the bond.

"He says you're a hypocrite," Faith said, chuckling as Terra leapt off the table and joined the other Pokemon.

"I already apologised," Jason fumed as he grabbed his phone and began browsing through it

"So you managed to get to first base with Eve. Does this what a father feels like when their son grows up? I'm so proud of you," Lucas pretended to wipe away a tear.

"Shut up." Jason flipped him the bird.

"So, has anything else happened while I was away?" Lucas asked the girls.

"The Kanto Championship preliminaries start next week," Misty said.

"Really? It will be interesting to see who wins the Junior Championship."

"The frontrunner is a trainer named Red," Faith said. "In fact, he is from Pallet Town as well. Can you imagine what it would be like if there were two Junior Champions from Pallet Town in consecutive years?"

No way. Red was actually a trainer in this world. The more you learn.


So, what do you think? Next chapter, Lucas continues his Pokemon journey and starts on the road to Pewter City.

Thanks for reading.